Gluten-free diets, from what I can tell, became a diet fad several years ago, and seems to be one which is not going away.

I know that there is a small population of people who are gluten-intolerant as a genetic condition called Celiac Disease. I know a guy who has it. But I also know some exceedingly intelligent people who are otherwise good critical thinkers who seem to be trying it out.

What gives?

I’m pretty sure that it is bunk, so I’ll begin by asking what are some good, trustworthy sources that I can show friends who buy into it? Much of the misinformation seems to revolve around gluten causing inflammation in the intestines, which it would in people with Celiac Disease, but not, as far as I know, in most people.

A desire for some sort of dietetic “Magic Bullet” if you will which will cure everything from overweight and bad breath to the heartbreak of erectile dysfunction and psoriasis, and all without effort of any kind.

That’s pretty much what gives.

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Question authority and think for yourself. Big Brother does not know best and never has.

Gluten-free diets, from what I can tell, became a diet fad several years ago, and seems to be one which is not going away.

I know that there is a small population of people who are gluten-intolerant as a genetic condition called Celiac Disease. I know a guy who has it. But I also know some exceedingly intelligent people who are otherwise good critical thinkers who seem to be trying it out.

What gives?

I’m pretty sure that it is bunk, so I’ll begin by asking what are some good, trustworthy sources that I can show friends who buy into it? Much of the misinformation seems to revolve around gluten causing inflammation in the intestines, which it would in people with Celiac Disease, but not, as far as I know, in most people.

Maybe Mcgyver will weigh in. I’d like to know, too. I also know some people who do not have celiac disease who insist it is doing them good. I just don’t know the answers. My reaction is to call it bunk, too.

Gluten-free diets, from what I can tell, became a diet fad several years ago, and seems to be one which is not going away.

I know that there is a small population of people who are gluten-intolerant as a genetic condition called Celiac Disease. I know a guy who has it. But I also know some exceedingly intelligent people who are otherwise good critical thinkers who seem to be trying it out.

What gives?

I’m pretty sure that it is bunk, so I’ll begin by asking what are some good, trustworthy sources that I can show friends who buy into it? Much of the misinformation seems to revolve around gluten causing inflammation in the intestines, which it would in people with Celiac Disease, but not, as far as I know, in most people.

Maybe Mcgyver will weigh in. I’d like to know, too. I also know some people who do not have celiac disease who insist it is doing them good. I just don’t know the answers. My reaction is to call it bunk, too.

Lois

I think many of its adherents are mistaking correlation with causation. Amongst some parents in our community the parent will observe an undesirable behavior in ‘junior’. They’ll do some basic, quick and easy internet searches and conclude it’s caused by gluten sensitivity (or whatever catch phrase of the day). Junior will then be fed a gluten free diet. For whatever reason the undesirable behavior goes away, the parent then ignores any other variables/possible causes and concludes the lack of gluten has ‘cured him’.

Kids go through phases of poor behaviors and it takes time for them to learn not to behave that way. So I also think it might be some sort of parental coping mechanism to deal with their children.

In general, I think it’s just a variant of the Atkins diet, now Paleo diet of reducing/removing carbohydrates. <shrug>

My final word on it for those who do not have celiac is: It’s magic!!

Take care,

Derek

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“It is noble to be good; it is still nobler to teach others to be good—and less trouble.”—Mark Twain

Gluten-free diets, from what I can tell, became a diet fad several years ago, and seems to be one which is not going away.

I know that there is a small population of people who are gluten-intolerant as a genetic condition called Celiac Disease. I know a guy who has it. But I also know some exceedingly intelligent people who are otherwise good critical thinkers who seem to be trying it out.

What gives?

I’m pretty sure that it is bunk, so I’ll begin by asking what are some good, trustworthy sources that I can show friends who buy into it? Much of the misinformation seems to revolve around gluten causing inflammation in the intestines, which it would in people with Celiac Disease, but not, as far as I know, in most people.

Maybe Mcgyver will weigh in. I’d like to know, too. I also know some people who do not have celiac disease who insist it is doing them good. I just don’t know the answers. My reaction is to call it bunk, too.

Lois

I think many of its adherents are mistaking correlation with causation. Amongst some parents in our community the parent will observe an undesirable behavior in ‘junior’. They’ll do some basic, quick and easy internet searches and conclude it’s caused by gluten sensitivity (or whatever catch phrase of the day). Junior will then be fed a gluten free diet. For whatever reason the undesirable behavior goes away, the parent then ignores any other variables/possible causes and concludes the lack of gluten has ‘cured him’.

Kids go through phases of poor behaviors and it takes time for them to learn not to behave that way. So I also think it might be some sort of parental coping mechanism to deal with their children.

In general, I think it’s just a variant of the Atkins diet, now Paleo diet of reducing/removing carbohydrates. <shrug>

My final word on it for those who do not have celiac is: It’s magic!!

Take care,

Derek

Though I am sure there are people feeding this diet to their children, the people I know who are swearing by it are adults following the diet themselves, with no children involved. Some say they have fewer digestive problems by avoiding gluten, and who knows what else.

Though I am sure there are people feeding this diet to their children, the people I know who are swearing by it are adults following the diet themselves, with no children involved. Some say they have fewer digestive problems by avoiding gluten, and who knows what else.

Any idea what kind of digestive problems this diet supposedly fixes? I’m certainly skeptical of anecdotes (including my own of course!)

Take care,

Derek

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“It is noble to be good; it is still nobler to teach others to be good—and less trouble.”—Mark Twain

Though I am sure there are people feeding this diet to their children, the people I know who are swearing by it are adults following the diet themselves, with no children involved. Some say they have fewer digestive problems by avoiding gluten, and who knows what else.

Any idea what kind of digestive problems this diet supposedly fixes? I’m certainly skeptical of anecdotes (including my own of course!)

Take care,

Derek

I haven’t asked for details. Not sure I want to know. One said she can’t digest foods with gluten (though she doesn’t have celiac disease). I’m skeptical of anecdotes, too. I think some people grab onto food fads because its one way they can convince themselves that they have control over their lives.

Gluten Enteropathy or Celiac disease as this condition is often known is a condition in which certain individuals can develop a sensitivity to Gluten which is the main protein found in wheat. While there are certainly many people who have this sensitivity and many who are still undiagnosed it has clearly become a bit of a fad. Several years back the handful of celiac patients I took care of had a very difficult time finding gluten free foods to eat. Now every pizza shop and supermarket have gluten free items and isles. Its gotten so silly that foods which have never had any gluten in them at all are now putting gluten free labels on their products. I saw potato chips the other day which exclaimed in bold letter that they were gluten free. The brand next to it said nothing about this, but the fact is ALL potatoes are gluten free. Its just become a big marketing tool now.

There are several reasons why this condition seems so much more prevalent now than it once was. The primary reason is awareness. Many more people have heard of Celiac disease today than just a couple of years ago. The positive outcome of this is that more people with true celiac disease have now been properly diagnosed. Unfortunately awareness has its down side. Most adults have at some time or other experienced some of the symptoms of celiac disease ( see here). Gastrointestinal complaints are extremely common but most people with GI issues do not have celiac disease. There are many more common explanations for most of these cases including overindulgence, obesity, reflux, gall bladder disease, gastritis, ulcers, Crohns, ulcerative colitis and on and on.

One thing that has happened is that all of these people with a little bloating or acid are looking for a cure and when a couple of Tums doesnt do the trick they look for something else. Celiac disease is an easy thing to grab on to because the symptoms are so vague and its now the “in thing” to have. My wife was at a baby christening in a well to do part of town recently and when the hors d’oeuvres were brought out the waitress asked if anyone needed gluten free at which point more than half the women in the room raised their hands gleefully and said yes like they were all part of a special club. Additionally having this illness has almost become a way of saying “i’m special and need special accommodations”. So there is that social aspect of the whole thing which will subside in time when something new comes along that is more popular.

On the plus side it wouldn’t be the worse thing in the world for the health of the country if we ate far less wheat products. Unfortunately all these people are doing is replacing them with other carbohydrate that aren;t any healthier.

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For every complex problem there is a solution that is simple, obvious,.... and just plain wrong

Gluten Enteropathy or Celiac disease as this condition is often known is a condition in which certain individuals can develop a sensitivity to Gluten which is the main protein found in wheat. While there are certainly many people who have this sensitivity and many who are still undiagnosed it has clearly become a bit of a fad. Several years back the handful of celiac patients I took care of had a very difficult time finding gluten free foods to eat. Now every pizza shop and supermarket have gluten free items and isles. Its gotten so silly that foods which have never had any gluten in them at all are now putting gluten free labels on their products. I saw potato chips the other day which exclaimed in bold letter that they were gluten free. The brand next to it said nothing about this, but the fact is ALL potatoes are gluten free. Its just become a big marketing tool now.

There are several reasons why this condition seems so much more prevalent now than it once was. The primary reason is awareness. Many more people have heard of Celiac disease today than just a couple of years ago. The positive outcome of this is that more people with true celiac disease have now been properly diagnosed. Unfortunately awareness has its down side. Most adults have at some time or other experienced some of the symptoms of celiac disease ( see here). Gastrointestinal complaints are extremely common but most people with GI issues do not have celiac disease. There are many more common explanations for most of these cases including overindulgence, obesity, reflux, gall bladder disease, gastritis, ulcers, Crohns, ulcerative colitis and on and on.

One thing that has happened is that all of these people with a little bloating or acid are looking for a cure and when a couple of Tums doesnt do the trick they look for something else. Celiac disease is an easy thing to grab on to because the symptoms are so vague and its now the “in thing” to have. My wife was at a baby christening in a well to do part of town recently and when the hors d’oeuvres were brought out the waitress asked if anyone needed gluten free at which point more than half the women in the room raised their hands gleefully and said yes like they were all part of a special club. Additionally having this illness has almost become a way of saying “i’m special and need special accommodations”. So there is that social aspect of the whole thing which will subside in time when something new comes along that is more popular.

On the plus side it wouldn’t be the worse thing in the world for the health of the country if we ate far less wheat products. Unfortunately all these people are doing is replacing them with other carbohydrate that aren;t any healthier.

Thanks, I could have guessed that would be your position. It makes sense. Its one more food fad in a long list of food fads.

On the plus side it wouldn’t be the worse thing in the world for the health of the country if we ate far less wheat products.

Hey, that sounds great. I’ll just switch from wheat products to Fritos and potato chips, right?

Occam

Well the full quote was “On the plus side it wouldn’t be the worse thing in the world for the health of the country if we ate far less wheat products. Unfortunately all these people are doing is replacing them with other carbohydrate that aren’t any healthier.”

Glad to see you putting my advice to good use Occam

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For every complex problem there is a solution that is simple, obvious,.... and just plain wrong

Barley became the in fad about 10 years ago. Unfortunately, it has not gone away. I am allergic to barley and it is next to impossible to find bread without barley in it these days. Even french bread, which has no reason to use barley, has it. I finally found one brand that doesn’t use barley, but the last brand I used, suddenly added it a few years ago.

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Church; where sheep congregate to worship a zombie on a stick that turns into a cracker on Sundays…

This is a bit off topic but allergies are being discussed here. Over the past ten years there has been an increase of kids with peanut allergies and as a result a there has been a frantic movement to eliminate all forms of peanut products from school systems, at least in our area. Signs are appearing that declare a school to be “peanut free”. This has risen to the point of fanaticism and parents are fanning the flames. They don’t even want peanut dust near their children. Is this a real problem? I’ve not done the research on the topic, just thought I’d throw it out for you guys in the medical field.